When Gal Gadot teamed up with a slew of celebrities for a viral cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” the public’s reaction was mixed. Some saw the video as a nice, uplifting moment during a hard time for the world, while many others felt it was tone-deaf.
So independent queer artist Leadr decided to try something similar, but this time with a different purpose. On Tuesday, the singer posted his own version of the cover, made up entirely of other independent stars.
Performing in the same fashion as Gadot’s original video, with each individual artist taking on a different line of the song, Leadr recruited fellow indie artists Zee Machine, Marqui Jordan, YVR, Desi Valentine, Jenna Kyle, Sean the Star Emperor, Yuugen, Derek Jameson, Lawrence Z. Williams, Justin Michael Williams, Chandler Juliet, Glass Battles, Krista Love Chakra and Jazmin Grace Grimaldi.
In a statement to Billboard, Leadr said that, while he liked Gadot’s version, he wanted to make a video that could help the artists being directly impacted by the current global crisis. “I liked Gal Gadot’s version of ‘Imagine,’ but I also understand where the backlash came from,” he said. “While I think the celebrity version was well-intentioned, I thought it would be neat to see it re-created from the perspective of independent artists who have lost their livelihoods due to this crisis.”
The star added that he saw how the indie community was stunted in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and encouraged fans to show their support where they can. “Between the loss of paid gigs and service industry jobs, the indie artist community is hurting,” he said. “I encourage viewers to support independent musicians during this time, whether that means buying merch, downloading their music or something as simple as following them on social media. It all helps.”
Check out the lovely new rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and each of the indie artists involved, below:
